Odisha BJP leader likens Naveen, Dama to Dhritarashtra and Shikhandi

Bhubaneswar: War of words between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Odisha’s ruling party Biju Janata Dal (BJD) turned uglier and shriller today with the former indirectly comparing latter’s chief Naveen Patnaik and its vice president Damodar Rout to mythological characters Dhritarashtra and Shikhandi of the great Mahabharata epic.

“Currently, in the Mahabharata that is unfolding within the BJD, you all can clearly make out from my words, who is playing the character of Shikhandi. The BJD chief is the main villain of Mahabharata-the blind, deaf and dumb Dhritarashtra. He has let loose this Shikhandi to cover up his government’s weakness, inactivity, and inefficiency,” commented Lekhashree Samantasinghar, secretary BJP state unit addressing a press conference at the party’s state headquarters here.

Samantasinghar also indirectly compared Rout to the joker in a circus.

“She holds no position in the society. She has never been elected to represent in public life. Why are you people paying importance to what she said? If Naveen Patnaik is Dhritarashtra, BJP had served him for nine years thinking him to be Pandu’s son Dharmaraj Yudhisthir then?,” asked Rout, a seasoned politician, who is well known for his witty remarks in his reactions on Samantsinghar’s comments.

“4.2 crore people of Odisha know whether I am a joker or Pandu’s son Arjun. She will tell you how I am inflicting injuries to them with my pashupat arrow,” he added.

It is worth mentioning here that Rout had on Thursday made a scathing attack on the saffron party and Prime Minister Narendra Modi with statistics on how Odisha fared better on parameters of development vis a vis BJP ruled States as we reported here.